Chocolate, orange and olive oil cake

Somehow Winter has arrived. Yes, I know there’s a lot of Autumn left but the last few days have felt like Winter. Temperatures have dropped, the terrible North Sea wind is back making our ears and noses little ice blocks and our fire place is full with candles again. So all we can do is bundle up and enjoy warm cups of coffee with a piece of cake. It sounds boring and oh so cliché but the comfort that a cup of coffee and a piece of cake bring in these long, dark afternoons is exactly what makes this season bearable.

These days we miss Spain so very much, but we also like to make the most of the characteristic cosy German atmosphere, hence the candles in the fire place and the coffee and cake in the afternoon. In this cake, our take on a recipe we found in this book, we’ve used the best of both worlds: extra virgin olive oil and oranges from Spain and dark chocolate made in Bremen.

Preheat the oven to 175º and line a 23 cm cake pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. In another bowl mix the olive oil, milk, eggs and orange juice. Here we wanted to give you a tip: when using extra virgin olive oil for baking, make sure you have the Arbequina variety. It’s sweeter and softer and, therefore, more appropriate for desserts and sweet baked goods.

Back to the recipe, combine the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients and add the melted chocolate. Stir well until you have a smooth dough.

Pour the dough into the prepared pan and bake for one hour. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool for half an hour. Remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely.

The result is a very moist, spongy and not overly sweet cake, really fulfilling and comforting that pairs perfectly with a strong coffee. It can’t be easier to prepare and it’s as simple as it looks. A good old cake that will warm your soul these cold, windy afternoons.